


Christmas Is My Time Of Year

by Rochelle_Templer



Category: The Monkees, The Monkees (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-04 16:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12774897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/Rochelle_Templer
Summary: When Mike's Christmas plans fall apart, Micky comes up with a solution....





	1. Chapter 1

**December 22nd**  

It was a cold, grey afternoon outside of the beach house at 1334 Beechwood Drive. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds almost as soon as it had risen that morning and the ocean churned an icy spray onto the beach.

However, inside was far more warm and festive.

It was three days before Christmas and the guys had packed their things for a set of separate trips that each of them were taking. Davy’s grandfather had sent a ticket so he could to fly to England and spend Christmas together. Peter’s parents had arranged for him to take a flight to Connecticut to visit them. Mike had saved up the money to take a train to Texas to visit his family while Micky, who only lived about three hours away from his family, planned to drive to his mother’s house later that day to spend the holidays with her and his siblings.  

As a result of their travel plans, they decided to have their own Christmas celebration together that day before everyone had to leave. They had scraped up enough money to make it so they could enjoy a hearty breakfast after which they exchanged gifts. Then they played games and sang carols for a while until it was close to time for each of them to leave.

Throughout all this, Micky had noted that Mike had seemed unusually quiet during their little party. True, he had seemed happy with the presents he got and had joined in enthusiastically when they sang together, but whenever there was a lull in their activities, the drummer noticed that Mike would stare at the landscape outside, his eyes wistful.

Despite his concerns, Micky kept his observations to himself. The fact that Mike was trying his hardest to get into the spirit of their festivities made Micky think that the Texan was seeking to avoid whatever was preying on his mind if only for a little while. He thought about how Mike had implied that relations among his own family were often tense and imagined that Mike might be anxious over his upcoming visit.

The drummer batted at an ornament on the tree with his fingertip and shook his head. Holidays were supposed to be about fun and enjoying the bonds between family and friends. At least, that’s what his parents had raised him to believe. But he knew that that wasn’t always true for every family. For some families, the holidays were one of the most stressful times of the year. Even though he clearly wanted to see his relatives and his mother in particular, Micky figured that Mike might still have some trepidation about it. A part of him wished that the four of them could spend the holidays together instead so that Mike could relax and focus on enjoying himself, but Micky knew that that wouldn’t be possible.

Thus, the drummer decided to keep his mouth shut and let Mike enjoy their party without having someone pry into things he tended to keep to himself. Besides that, Micky didn’t want to spoil the fun for Davy or Peter either right before they left on trips of their own.

There was a knock at the door which Davy answered. It turned out to be the taxi that had been called for to take him to the airport. Only a couple of seconds later, Peter’s taxi showed up, and the guys brought the luggage to the front door.

“Well, I guess I’m off,” Davy said. “Good bye Mike, Micky, Peter. Have a good Christmas.”

“Yeah, bye guys,” Peter said. “I’m going to miss you. I wish we could be together Christmas.”

“Aw, thanks Peter,” Mike drawled. “But hey, don’t let that ruin your holidays, ok? You and Davy have fun with your families.”

“Yeah, we’ll see each other again soon,” Micky said. “I mean, we’ll be back in time to spend New Year’s together, right? We can have some more fun then.”

Peter nodded and gave Davy, Micky and Mike a hug before grabbing his luggage and leaving. Davy did the same with Micky and Mike before taking off as well. Mike and Micky stood in the doorway and waved as they watched them leave. Once they were out of sight, they walked back inside and began to gather up the discarded wrapping paper that littered the floor.

 “Hope their flights go ok,” Micky said as he dumped a handful of paper into the trashcan. “I heard that the airports are crazy right now. Man, I’m glad I don’t have to fly.”

“They’ll be ok,” Mike said. “They got their tickets last week. First class ones. I’m sure the airport people will make sure they’re squared away. I’ve heard that it’s mainly tough for the people still trying to get flights.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s one of the perks of coming from a wealthy family,” Micky said. “I mean, my family is well off enough, but nothing like Peter’s or Davy’s.”

Mike nodded and continued to work on cleaning up the pad. After clearing away the empty boxes and paper, the two of them cleaned up the kitchen before heading back out to the front room. Micky sat down on the floor in front of the tree while Mike flopped down on the couch.

“I’ll probably get going myself before too long. Mom’s expecting me for dinner tonight and I’ll want to get there in plenty of time for that,” Micky said, twirling a strand of tinsel in his fingers. “Hey, when are you leaving, Mike? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to catch your train?”

“I got time,” Mike shrugged. “You go ahead and go. I’ll make sure everything’s taken care of here.”

“Nah, I’m not in any rush,” Micky said. “I might as well hang out with you until it’s time for you to leave.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mike replied. “Go have fun with your family. I’m sure they’d rather have you come sooner than later.”

“Really Mike, it’s no big deal,” Micky said. “I can just leave at the same time as you. Say, is there any of that ham left? I was thinking of having a sandwich. Ya know, something to tide me over until dinner tonight.”

“Mick, forget the sandwich and just go already,” Mike shot back. “Your family’s waitin’ for you. There’s no need for you to stick around here.”

“Well sure, I don’t _need_ to stay,” Micky responded. “But I want to anyway. I figure I can keep you company until you have to start on your long train ride. You shouldn’t have to sit here by yourself.”

“Ain’t nothing you can do about that,” Mike muttered.

Micky blinked hard and swiveled around to look at Mike, who was currently doing his best to avoid his gaze. The expression on the Texan’s face told Micky that Mike hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Micky was about to insist again that he didn’t mind staying with him until it was time to leave when he finally realized something that had been at the back of his mind all day.

“Where’s your luggage?” he asked. “I didn’t see it when we grabbed Peter and Davy’s things. Shouldn’t you have already packed by now?”

Mike said nothing as he sat up and turned away from Micky. It was then that the drummer started to think that there was more to Mike’s melancholic mood than the usual stresses of the holidays. Soon, Micky started get a terrible suspicion about what was going on.

“Mike…you’re not going to Texas, are you?” he asked. Mike’s shoulders slumped as he let out a long sigh.

“I got a call from Ma early this morning,” he said. “Before y’all got up. She, she said that my uncles Charlie and Les were comin’ to visit along with Aunt Vi. They, well they never did like my father all that much. Always telling Ma that she should have never married him and all that. And when they, um, when I visit while they’re there, it just starts all those old arguments again.”

Micky nodded in understanding. All of them knew that Mike didn’t like to talk about his father much and when they finally heard a little about just how awful of a person he had been, they didn’t blame Mike at all for wanting to forget about him. Still, Micky was confused as to how that should have any bearing on how the rest of Mike’s relatives acted around him.

“That’s dumb,” the drummer said. “It’s not like it’s your fault that your father was a jerk and ran off like that. You were just a little kid.”

“Maybe, but it is what it is,” Mike said with a shrug. “Anyway, Ma and I figured it’d be better if I just skip dropping by this Christmas and plan on next year instead.”

“Wait a minute, you mean she told you that you couldn’t come spend Christmas with her just because it might bother them?” Micky said, incredulous. “That’s terrible.”

“It’s just as well,” Mike replied. “If I showed up, everyone would just be miserable what with the carryin’ on those three would probably do.”

“Oh, so instead, you get to be miserable on your own, is that it?” Micky said caustically. “I suppose they think it’s ok for you to spend Christmas by yourself just to make them happy.”

“It’s not so bad,” Mike said with another shrug. “I can hang around here and get some stuff done. I’ve got a couple songs I’m working on. I could get them finished by the time y’all get back.”

“But you shouldn’t have to do that,” Micky insisted. “Mike, why didn’t you tell us that this happened?”

“Why? So y’all would have your Christmases ruined because of me?” Mike answered. “It’s not like Davy can just hop on over to see his grandfather anytime he wants. And Peter, he always enjoys seeing his mother and doesn’t get to see her as often as he’d like. You know that. Besides, I also know how y’all are. If I had said something, y’all would be worryin’ about me instead of having fun with your families.”

Micky scowled but said nothing. Truthfully, he wasn’t surprised that Mike had tried to hide this from them. The Texan was always trying to shield them from anything that could make them unhappy and had made a habit of putting them and their needs first and himself last. Still, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t disappointed that Mike had tried to deceive them this way.

It wasn’t long though before Micky turned his frustration away from Mike and toward the Texan’s family instead. This wasn’t the first wasn’t the first story that he had heard about the callous behavior Mike’s relatives frequently directed toward him. It always disturbed him, and he couldn’t understand why they treated Mike so poorly. Even worse was the fact that Mike seemed to be used to this treatment and appeared to expect it.

Micky tugged at the tinsel twined in his fingers, pulling it off the tree. Sadly, given what he had heard in the past, Micky found that he also wasn’t all that shocked by this turn of events either. On one hand, he agreed with Mike that it was just as well that he didn’t show up if his relatives were going to be so petty.

On the other hand that still meant that Mike didn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with.   

Micky’s frown deepened. The thought of Mike sitting here alone, staring at the tree with only his guitar to keep him company bothered him immensely.

‘ _It’s not fair,’_ he thought to himself. ‘ _Mike shouldn’t have to be by himself. Especially not on Christmas. It’s not right.’_

_‘I can’t let this happen. I gotta do something.’_

“Look, Micky, it’ll be ok,” Mike said, breaking the silence. “You go ahead and go visit your family. I’ll be all right here.”

“No,” Micky said. Mike turned around to face him.

“Micky, don’t,” he said. “Don’t do this. I told you, I’ll be fine. Come on, your family’s counting on you to show up. Don’t spoil it for them.”

“I’m not going to spoil Christmas for them,” Micky said. “But I’m not going to let you sit here all alone either. You’re coming with me.”

“With you?” Mike said, his eyes growing wide. “Micky, I…I can’t….”

“Sure you can,” Micky said with a grin. “Mom won’t mind. Really. She’s always telling me that she’d like to meet you guys. This way, she’ll get her chance with you at least.”

“Mick, I’m not goin’ to impose on your….”

“Who’s imposing?” Micky interrupted. “Mom loves having people over for the holidays. She says that Christmas is all about having a full house. Trust me, she won’t mind me bringing you."

“Micky, I….” Mike said, looking down into his lap. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I do. But they’re your family, Micky. Not mine. If I came, your mom would have to worry about entertaining a guest and, I um…what I mean to say is, I’d just be in the way of y’all celebrating your Christmas together.”

Micky let the tinsel fall from his fingers and watched as Mike fidgeted with his hands in lap. He didn’t like to think that Mike considered himself such a bother, but figured that that was to be expected given what had happened with his own family earlier that day. However, Micky could sense that the Texan’s resolve was starting to waver and decided that now was not the time to give up.

The drummer got up onto his knees and shuffled over toward the couch. Once he was sitting next to it, he put his hand on Mike’s arm.

“Mike, listen, it’s no trouble,” he said. “You said yourself that I shouldn’t spoil Christmas for my family. But don’t you see, that that includes you? You, Davy, and Peter, you guys are family to me. So how could I leave you out of celebrating Christmas? And I know Mom will agree with me when I explain things to her. Besides all that, do you really think I can have fun knowing that you’ll be alone? Oh sure, it’ll be groovy to be with my mom, and my sisters and all, but there would still be a part of me that wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself. It…it just wouldn’t be Christmas. Not like it should be.”

Micky squeezed Mike’s arm, causing the Texan to look up at him. The drummer was dismayed to discover an unreadable expression in Mike’s eyes. He had hoped that he had finally gotten his point across and was worried that Mike would still turn him down after all.

“All right,” Mike said softly. “I’ll go if y’all will have me. But that’s only if you call your mom first and make sure it’s all right. I ain’t showing up unannounced.”

“Oh no, no, of course not,” Micky said, shaking his head vigorously. “Mom will want to know ahead of time that she’ll need to set an extra place for dinner. So you go ahead and pack while I give her a call. And don’t say that you’ll wait to pack until after I call her. I already know that she’ll say yes, so you might as well start getting ready now. The sooner you can get going, the sooner we can leave.”

Micky jumped up to his feet to his feet and dashed over to the phone. Mike stared at him for a moment more before rising from the couch and heading toward his room. Micky grinned as he watched Mike ascend the stairs and started dancing on the balls of his feet as he picked up the phone to call his mother.

‘ _Man this will be great,’_ he giggled to himself. ‘ _Maybe Mike won’t be able to be with his own family this year, but at least he won’t be alone. Now, instead of worrying about uptight, mean-spirited relatives, he can have some fun on Christmas. I’ll make sure of that.’_

The line started to ring and Micky looked up at the bedroom he shared with Mike, willing the Texan to hurry. He wasn’t exactly sure at this point how exactly he’d go about guaranteeing that Mike would enjoy himself, but he was confident that he’d find a way.

After all, there was always a little magic when it came to Christmas…and as far Micky Dolenz was concerned, there was no reason why he couldn’t harness a little of it for himself.

  

    


	2. Chapter 2

**December 22nd-continued**

As he predicted, once Micky had explained the situation to his mother, he was given her blessing and encouragement to go ahead and bring Mike along to stay with them over the holidays. Not long after that, Mike finished packing his things and they were on the road to Micky’s hometown in southern California. The traffic was bustling, but it was not unexpected nor anything that Mike couldn’t handle.

“Anyway, Mom said you’ll be staying in my old room with me,” Micky explained as they got closer to his childhood home. “We’ve got this portable bed that she’s setting up in there for you to use. Don’t worry, it’s real comfortable.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Mike said, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.

“And Aunt Mary and Uncle Bruce are staying with us too,” Micky continued. “And they brought the triplets. Triplet boys, can ya believe it? Chip, Tommy, and Bobby. They’re all eight. They’re a handful, but they’re pretty good overall. And of course, my sisters are all still there: Coco, Debbie and Gina. Geez, Coco’s seventeen already. And I’ll warn ya now, they can get pretty excited too.”

“Sounds like it’s goin’ to be a crowded house,” Mike drawled. “Are you sure it’s a good idea, bringing me along?”

“Mike, I’m telling you, it’s fine,” Micky assured him. “We’ve actually got a pretty big house. My grandparents gave it to my mom when she got married. They were kind of hoping my mom would have lots of kids to fill it. Anyway, there’s a ton of space and plenty of rooms for all of us while we’re there. Besides, once I told Mom what was going on, she insisted that I take you with me. I told you, she loves having people over and has been wanting to meet you guys for a while now.”

Mike nodded, but stayed silent. At one point, Micky fiddled with the radio and sang along with some of their current favorites, encouraging Mike to join in. Despite his efforts, though, the Texan remained quiet and contemplative. Micky guessed that part of that might be an effort to concentrate on his driving due to his going to an unfamiliar part of the state and dealing with heavy traffic. However, the drummer also imagined that part of it was nerves getting the better of Mike. Micky knew from experience that Mike wasn’t always comfortable with crowds and now he was going to have to live with one for several days.

Still, Micky considered this only a minor hiccup. He knew his mother and sisters would be warm and welcoming and remembered his aunt and her family to be friendly as well. He figured that, once Mike got a chance to get to know them, he would relax and enjoy their company.

Eventually, they arrived in front of Micky’s old home and parked in the street across from it. They grabbed their bags out of the back and made their way to the door.

“You weren’t kidding about it bein’ big,” Mike said, tilting his head upward to take it in. The house was brick with a wide porch out front and a spacious yard with another porch out back. There were two floors and what looked like an attic toward the center of the top. Rows of ornate windows wrapped around the building with a large picture window near the front door.

“I told ya,” Micky chuckled. “My grandparents had plenty of money so giving my mom this house was not that big of a deal seeing as she was their only daughter. After that, my dad was able to create a couple businesses which he later sold, making it so that we wouldn’t have to worry about money for a long time. Maybe even never. My mom always said she was glad he did that before….”

Micky stopped abruptly. His father had passed away suddenly only weeks after the drummer had graduated from high school. At first, he had considered putting his plans to pursue his goal of playing in a rock and roll band on hold for a while, but his mother had urged him to not give up on his dream. Thus, when he ran into his new friend Peter again after he had moved out to California from Connecticut, the two of them took off for Malibu which eventually led to the formation of the Monkees. Micky missed his father, but was usually able to keep those feelings from becoming too painful by focusing on the happy memories from when he was a kid.

However, the holidays sometimes managed to put a slightly more melancholic cast on those memories. Micky felt a tightness in his throat that he tried to swallow away.

Suddenly, he felt a hand gently clasp his shoulder, and Micky finally managed to smile again. It didn’t surprise him that Mike had sensed the shift in his mood and was trying to comfort him. Somehow the Texan had known that there was nothing he could do to take away the grey feelings that lingered in Micky’s heart. Instead he focused on the one thing he knew that he could do: let Micky know that he was there for him. The drummer looked over and gave Mike a huge grin.

“Come on,” Micky said, his spirits lifting. “Mom’s probably wondering where we are by now.”

The two of them closed the distance to the door and Micky mashed his finger against the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened, a petite dark-haired woman with the same almond shaped eyes as Micky appearing in the entrance.

“Micky,” she beamed as she opened the door and held out her arms. “It’s so good to see you.” Micky immediately smiled back at her.

“It’s good to see you too, Mom,” he said as he moved forward to embrace her. They stayed that way for a couple of moments before Micky pulled away and stood off to the side. His mother then looked over at Mike standing nearby.

“And you must be Michael,” she said with a smile. Mike nodded and reached up to sweep his hat off his head.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said softly, fumbling with his hat in his hands. “How do you do, um Mrs. Dolenz.”

“Oh no, none of that,” she laughed. “Janelle is just fine. And I’m very pleased to finally meet you, Michael. Micky is always talking about you and the rest of the boys.”

“Ah, ah, Mom, don’t tell him about that,” Micky said waving his arms about. “You said that stuff would be a secret between us.” Janelle nudged him in the arm with Micky letting his hands fall to his sides while he laughed.

“I see you haven’t changed,” she said with a smirk. “My son, the cut up. Grab your bags and come in you two.”

Mike pulled his hat back on and bobbed his head while Micky scooped up their suitcases and slid into the house. Once they were inside, they were greeted by another middle-aged couple who had been sitting on a couch near the center of the front room. The drummer sat their bags near the wall and bounded over toward them.

“Hey, Aunt Mary, Uncle Bruce,” Micky said, waving at them. “How are ya? Man, it’s been ages since I saw you.”

“We’re good, thank you, Micky,” Mary said, leaning in to give him a quick hug.

“Dang, Mick, I swear you’re even taller now than when we saw you a couple years ago,” Bruce said, shaking his hand. “And I thought the boys grew a lot since then.”

“Ah well, that was a while ago,” Micky said. “I think this is it for me. Oh hey, this is my friend, Michael Nesmith. Mike, this is Bruce and Mary Dolenz, my aunt and uncle.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Mike said, pulling his hat off his head again.

“Likewise,” Bruce said as he and Mary held out their hands to shake. “Janelle mentioned that you’re from Texas. Whereabouts are you from? Dallas, by any chance. Mary and I have some friends who moved out to Dallas.”

“I, um, no, I’m not from Dallas,” Mike replied. “I grew up in a real small town. I doubt y’all would have heard of it. It’s about forty miles from Houston.”

“I see,” Mary nodded. “Well, I’m sure it’s lovely there too. When Bruce and I went, we couldn’t help but notice how gorgeous the sunsets are in the desert.”

“Yes ma’am, they are,” Mike nodded. “And it’s even prettier when the stars come out.”

Mary looked as if she might say more, but a squeal from the nearby staircase interrupted her.

“Micky! Micky, you’re home.”

Everyone looked over to see three girls clap their hands and run down the staircase toward Micky. The drummer responded by rushing over to meet them. Once they reached him, all three of them tried to hug him simultaneously while giggling uncontrollably. Micky responded by putting his arms around all of them as best he could.

“We missed you, Micky,” the tallest one of them said. “Why haven’t you visited before?”

“Aw, Coco, I’ve been busy,” Micky said. “You know that. Besides, it’s not like I never write or call or anything.”

“Promise you’ll stay all week,” another one of them said. Micky grinned again and gave all of them another hug.

“Oh of course, Gina, of course,” he said. “You know Mom wouldn’t let me leave one second before Christmas. She gets scary if you ruin our holidays.”

“I heard that, Micky,” Janelle said, crossing her arms over her chest in a tone of mock-severity. “Just for that, you can help with dishes tonight.”

Micky’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but the smile did not leave his face. Then Coco looked over and noticed Mike standing nearby, her eyes locked on his face.

“Micky, who’s he?” she said, her face growing red. She put a hand to her mouth, but did not look away either.

“Oh, that’s Mike,” Micky answered. “He’s a friend. You know, he’s in our group. He plays guitar and sings. Mike, this is Coco, Debbie and Gina.”

“How do you do?” Mike said with a nod. “Nice to meet y’all”

“Hi,” Coco said from behind her hand. She glanced over at Debbie and they both started to giggle again as their eyes darted back and forth between Mike and each other. Mike blinked hard and shuffled back and forth in place.

However, there was no time for the moment to grow awkward as it was broken by the sound of thundering footsteps dashing into the room. Three young boys appeared and the sisters parted so that they could plow into Micky. All three boys started to talk at once until Micky held up his hands.

“Wait! Hold it!” he bellowed. “Hey, hold on, guys. One at a time. I only got two ears, ya know.”

“We thought you’d never get here,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, we kept having to put up with those girls,” Bobby said, making a face. The girls stuck their tongues out at them, but the boys didn’t seem to notice.

“Are you going to help us build a fort again?” Chip asked.

“Oh, oh, show us how to be a werewolf again,” Tommy said, hopping up and down. “Pleeeeease.”

“Guys, guys, come on,” Micky laughed. “I can’t do werewolves now. It’s not anywhere near Halloween. It’s Christmas. But hey, I tell ya what. We’ll do the fort thing at some point, all right? And maybe this year I’ll show you how to make it into a pirate hideout. How about that?”

All of the boys cheered, prompting Micky to chuckle again. Meanwhile, the girls simply shook their heads and rolled their eyes at what they saw as their relative immaturity.

“All right, everyone,” Janelle said, raising her hands. “I think it’s time we let Micky and his friend Michael take their things to their room so they can get ready for dinner.”

* * *

 

A couple of hours later, Janelle was scrubbing the remnants of dinner off the last of the plates in the sink while Micky swiped at the dishes she had already cleaned with a towel.

While she worked, she contemplated the young man her son had brought home with him. When Micky had told her about the sad circumstances that had led to his friend being alone for the holidays, Janelle immediately knew that she wanted to help out. She agreed with Micky that it was an absolute shame that Michael’s family had abandoned him that way and was in complete agreement that he should bring his friend with him.

Janelle watched as her son carefully stacked up the dinner plates after drying them. This wasn’t the first time that Micky had brought one of his friends over during a holiday. When he was a teenager, it wasn’t unusual for him to bring one of his high school buddies over to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas if things were tense within his friend’s family. The boys Micky tended to hang around were usually good-natured, if a little overly boisterous, and were similar to her son in many aspects. Thus, when Micky said that he was bringing a friend of his from the band he played in, she had anticipated another lively addition to her household for the holidays.

What she had not anticipated was the quiet, polite young man that Micky showed up with. Michael was quite different from the type of boys that her son tended to associate with and the longer she was around him, the more she couldn’t help but notice how much Michael’s shy, reserved demeanor contrasted with Micky’s outgoing, energetic personality. A part of her continued to try to align this young man with Micky’s description of him as perhaps the closest friend he had ever had. He definitely did not seem to fit what she imagined Micky would look for in a best friend.

Not that she minded Michael’s company. The lanky young man had certainly done his best to be a gracious guest. At several points, he offered to help with setting or clearing the table and with serving dinner. Janelle turned down his offers, insisting that Michael was her guest and that she wouldn’t hear of him taking on any chores during his first night in her house. During dinner, he was somewhat reticent, but would always respond to any comments or questions put to him with a thoughtful reply. Still, he rarely spoke unless spoken to and Janelle wondered if she hadn’t imagined a wistful look in Michael’s eyes while they ate together.

“Man, how many dishes are there?” Micky whined. “I didn’t think you even had this many.”

“We’re almost done,” Janelle said with a patient smile. “Honestly, Micky, I thought you would have learned by now to deal with household chores given how you’re living in a house on your own.”

“Well, I never do the dishes back at the pad,” Micky replied. “Davy and Pete usually take care of that. Mike has me do other stuff like sweeping up or dusting so I don’t have to stand around in one place. Or I work on the car or fix stuff around the house.”

“Your friend Michael sounds like a responsible person,” Janelle nodded.

“Yeah, he’s a great guy,” Micky said. “He gets kind of uptight about things once in a while, but that’s probably a good thing. The stuff that needs to get done gets done and he keeps us out of trouble. Well…for the most part anyway. Some things you just can’t avoid, ya know.”

“Yes, I know,” Janelle sighed. Her son had a knack for finding trouble even though she knew that he had a good heart and wasn’t the type to cause trouble for others. For that reason, she found herself relieved that Michael appeared to be so level-headed in comparison and that the Texan seemed to have some sway over Micky.

Still there was one thing she knew she needed to explain to her son now before things got out of hand.

“Micky,” she said. “Are you sure Michael is enjoying himself here?” Micky paused, holding a plate in mid-air, while cocking his head to the side in surprise.

“Sure he is,” the drummer said. “Mike, he’s…well, he’s sort of quiet.”

“I’ve noticed,” Janelle replied.

“I mean, he’s a nice guy and all, but it takes him a bit to warm up to people,” Micky continued.  

“Was he that way with you?” Janelle asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh yeah,” Micky said with a laugh, sliding the last of the plates into the cupboard. “I don’t think he had any idea about what to make of me when we first met. He was really closed off in those days. Don’t get me wrong, he was still nice enough, but man, getting him to interact with anybody was like pulling teeth. This was when he had been living in California on his own for a while. He didn’t have a lot of good experiences with the people here at that point. I think he just wasn’t used to having friends around.”

Now it was Janelle’s turn to be surprised. While her son had always been a congenial person, she couldn’t see him tolerating someone who was so distant long enough to get past those types of defenses. The more she heard about Michael, the more she was intrigued about him and the relationship he had with Micky.

“But these days, he’s not like that so much,” Micky said. “Trust me, once he’s had a chance to be around you guys for a while, he’ll loosen up. He’s actually really funny. You’ll see what I mean soon, I’m sure.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “But, Micky, you need to keep in mind that, while you’re here with your family, Michael is not. I know you said that his family wasn’t exactly kind to him, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t miss them during the holidays just the same.”

Micky stared at her with an attentive look on his face. Janelle could tell that he was making an effort to heed her words even if they weren’t sinking in entirely, and she figured that was a start at any rate.

“All I’m saying is that Christmas can be a very lonely time for someone who feels left out,” Janelle added. “Of course, the rest of us will do our part to make him feel welcome, but as his friend, it will be up to you to make sure he feels as if he’s a part of the celebration.”

“Oh sure,” Micky said with a wave of his hand. “Mike will have fun. No problem.”

“Good,” Janelle said. “Because I think if you don’t keep an eye on him, Coco might start to think she should intervene. She seems rather smitten with him.”

“Aw no, not again,” Micky said, slapping a hand over his face. “I thought she had a boyfriend.”

“Well, yes, there is another boy she’s interested in,” Janelle laughed. “But Coco is still a teenage girl, and Michael is a handsome young man. It’s no surprise that she’s at least interested. I would be too if I were her age.”

“Aw, Mom, don’t you start too,” Micky said, clearly horrified. Janelle laughed even more and waved her hands at him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s serious for Coco,” she said. “And I promise that I won’t bring it up to Michael if you think that would be best.”

“Yeah, better not,” Micky said emphatically. “He’ll have a lot more fun if he doesn’t have to worry about a love-sick teenager chasing after him.”

Janelle nodded. Micky appeared confident that he had a handle on things, which didn’t surprise her in the least.

She just hoped that his confidence was not unwarranted.

* * *

 

 After dinner, everyone gathered into the front room to visit and to admire the Christmas tree and ogle the presents and stockings that were strewn about the room. Knowing full well how talented their nephew was, Mary and Bruce insisted that Micky lead them in some Christmas carols. Micky jumped at the chance, and it wasn’t long before everyone was singing along.

At first, Mike joined in with the singing, enjoying the chance to get into the spirit of the holidays again. However, something, something at the back of his mind, continued to bother him, and it gradually sapped away his desire to be festive.

 Eventually, he stopped singing and ended up watching everyone else. He watched the boys poke at and wrestle with each other when they thought the adults weren’t watching. He watched the sisters join hands and giggle together in-between the lyrics. He watched the adults gaze at the children with fond smiles on their faces and contentment in their eyes. He watched Micky relishing his place as the center of attention and listened to a voice that never ceased to amaze him belt out tunes that were so familiar to him. It was a scene straight out of a Christmas story. Of happy families and the togetherness that was inherent to the season.

And that was the very thing that preyed on his mind.

Mike moved off to the side and continued to watch the spectacle in front of him. While his own family looked forward to their time together during the holidays, they never acted as free and joyous as this. The best he was usually able to hope for was that there wouldn’t be too many tense moments or harsh words spoken from the sides of his relative’s mouths. It was nothing like this. This felt so different, so alien to him; it was starting to make him feel a little uncomfortable.

Then he thought about what his family might be doing right now and that discomfort grew.

Mike swallowed hard. He didn’t want to bring down the happy scene in the room, so he did the only thing he could think of doing.

He went outside for some air in order to clear his head.

* * *

 

Several minutes later, Micky took a break from singing and glanced around the room. The jubilant smile on his face was replaced with a look of puzzlement when he realized that there was someone missing.

‘ _Hey, where did Mike go?’_ he wondered.

The drummer jumped up to his feet and walked out under the pretence of getting himself a glass of water. He searched the kitchen and dining room and the rooms adjoining them and was shocked to find no trace of the Texan. It wasn’t until he passed by one of the picture windows that he saw movement outside on the back porch. Micky walked closer to see what was going on, his heart sinking at the sight he found.

There, sitting all alone at the edge of the porch, was Mike. The Texan was staring up at the sky, his long legs drawn up toward his chest. It almost looked as if he was having a leisurely moment of star-gazing.

However, it was the look in Mike’s eyes that told Micky that this was not the case. There was a too bright glint in those chocolate colored eyes which also managed to be dull and distant at the same time. Just then, his mother’s words of caution came back to him, and Micky felt like kicking himself.

‘ _Geez, why didn’t I think of this before? Of course Mom’s right. Mike’s probably wishing he could spend time with his mom right now and seeing us all happy and celebrating…that’s probably reminding him of what he can’t have for himself.’_

Micky let out a sigh and shook his head. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He had hoped that Mike would let himself get pulled into his family’s holiday spirit, but then again, a part of him wasn’t surprised that the Texan hadn’t. It wasn’t Mike’s way to let himself get carried away by things. Even if Mike relaxed as he got to know his family, that wouldn’t mean that he wouldn’t still be thinking about what he was missing out on. Just being in a friendlier, celebratory setting wasn’t going to be enough.

Micky thought about going outside, but decided that it was better that he give Mike some space for now. He knew that Mike sometimes needed that space to sort out his thoughts and feelings.

Besides, it would give Micky a chance to figure out what he could do to turn this situation around.


	3. Chapter 3

**December 23 rd**

The next morning found Mike driving around town with no clear goal in mind.

After an uneasy night spent gazing at the night sky and then heading to bed without a word, Mike woke up with an urge to get out on his own. He wrote a brief note to let Micky know what he was doing and left it on his bed-stand before quickly dressing and leaving in the Monkeemobile. At one point, he stopped at a little restaurant a few miles from the Dolenz house to get a cup of coffee and toast. Some chit-chat with the waitress who served him gave Mike a basic layout of the town and some ideas of places to explore.

As a result, Mike spent the next two hours driving and taking in the sights. It turned out to be a good way to take the edge off the feelings he had the night before, and Mike found that he enjoyed learning more about the area where Micky had spent his childhood.

Gaining some distance from the emotions that had overwhelmed him last night also helped Mike finally appreciate what the drummer had been trying to do from the moment he invited him to his mother’s house for the holidays. The Texan couldn’t remember having any friends before now who would go out of their way like this just so he wouldn’t be lonely on Christmas. It was more than a little discomfiting when he thought about how he hadn’t shown much in the way of gratitude toward Micky or toward Janelle for welcoming him into her home. He didn’t like to think that he was wallowing in self-pity, but it was impossible to deny that it played a role in the somber mood that had taken hold of him.

Mike found a stretch of street that was lined with shops and pulled the car over to park. He strolled along the sidewalk, watching the people mill around the stores and taking an occasional peek into the windows himself. He wasn’t sure if he could entirely shake the bleakness that had filled his heart, but he wanted to find some way to express his appreciation for the kindness that was being shown to him.

Then he stopped when something that reminded him of home suddenly caught his eye. He stared for almost a minute before deciding that he could make the first step in his endeavor.

* * *

 

About three hours later, Micky was also in town, although he was not alone. Janelle had lent Micky her car with the stipulation that he take his sisters with him so they could do a little last minute Christmas shopping. The drummer had made a show of rolling his eyes and whining, but truthfully, he didn’t mind. He had always been close to his sisters and was enjoying the chance to spend some extra time with them. For their part, Coco, Gina, and Debbie had made sure to give Micky the expected grief that came with any sibling relationship while also making it clear that they were thrilled to have him around. Their cheer made it impossible for Micky to let his worries about Mike bring him down too much.

Still, that did not mean that he had not stopped thinking about the Texan. He had been surprised when he woke up and found out that Mike had gone off on his own. There was a tinge of disappointment, but Micky tried to not let it bother him too much. Mike had been prone to this behavior ever since had met him, even after they started living with Peter and Davy and played together in a band. The drummer knew it wasn’t personal when Mike decided that he wanted to be alone rather than confide in his friends.

However, Micky also knew that this solitary contemplation could easily slide into a much darker brooding if whatever had driven the Texan to this state was a big enough problem. Micky was certain that this was one of those situations and was currently searching his brain for some solution to brighten Mike’s mood.

The four of them had gone to a large department store at the center of town and were wandering around the isles while Micky went over this problem in his head. The girls were busy discussing what they should get with Micky only half-listening to their conversation.

“Hey Micky, Mom said that we’re all going to a party tonight,” Gina said. “Uncle Frank and Aunt Tess are hosting it at the Circle Club basement tonight.”

“You and Michael are going, aren’t you?” Debbie asked.

“Huh?” Micky said, distracted. “Oh sure, I guess so. Hey wait, Lenny isn’t going to be there is he?”

“Probably,” Coco said, rolling her eyes. “It’s his parents who are having the party. I don’t care what Mom says about him being family, I wish he wasn’t coming. He’s always such a jerk.”

“He was so mean to us last year,” Debbie pouted.  Micky smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t let him bug you guys this time. You just leave it to me.”

“But Micky, he’ll get mad at you if you do anything,” Gina said. “He gets so angry…. I, I don’t want anything to happen.”

“Aw come on, nothing will happen,” Micky said, making sure to laugh. “I can take care of myself, ya know.”

All three sisters nodded, anxiety still lurking in their eyes. Micky shook his head and waved at them to get their attention.

“Hey come on, forget about Lenny,” he said. “It’s Christmas. Let’s focus on getting some groovy presents for Mom and some stuff for our own little get-together. And maybe, if you guys are good, I’ll treat you to some Christmas cookies from the bakery on the way home.”

This brought smiles to the girls’ faces which pleased Micky. They immediately went back to chattering about what they wanted to buy while the drummer went back to thinking about what he wanted to do for Mike. This filled his thoughts for a few more minutes until a display near an escalator caught his eye. He studied it for a few seconds before a huge grin appeared on his face due to his having finally found some inspiration.

“Oh no. He can’t…he said….”

Micky was immediately snapped out of his elation over his find by the mortified tone in Coco’s voice. He glanced over at his sister and tried to figure out what she was talking about. He noticed that she was staring at something and followed her line of sight. Soon, he realized that she was looking at a teenage boy who had his arm around a girl with light blond hair and bright blue eyes. They were both laughing and huddled as close as possible as they walked along.

“That’s Terry,” Gina said, leaning toward Micky and pointing at the couple. “He told Coco that he wanted to go steady with her just last week.”

“And that’s Marcy Archer,” Debbie said, her voice dripping with disdain. “She’s always stealing everyone’s boyfriends. My friend, Angie said that she’s a real….”

“Stop it!” Coco snapped at her sisters. Micky reached a hand toward her, but Coco immediately backed away.

“I feel sick,” she blurted, her face red and her hand over her mouth. “I, I want to go home.”

“But Coco, we still got to buy something for Mom,” Debbie said. “We….”

“Then you two do it,” Coco said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small wad of bills. She thrust them into Gina’s hands and spun on her heel. “I’m taking a taxi home.”

Coco then dashed out of the store, her eyes shining with tears. Micky tried calling after her, but it did no good. Seconds later, his sister disappeared in the crowds Micky sighed and kicked at a bit of dust on the tiled floor.

Now he had two people to worry about and he wondered if things were only bound to get worse from here.

* * *

 

Her mad rush out of the department store and the ride home were a blur to Coco. She was aware enough to hail a taxi and give the driver the address to her home, but later could not remember doing either of those things. All she could see in her mind was the sight of Terry gazing into Marcy’s eyes with the same infatuation she had thought had been reserved for her.

Coco swiped at her eyes more than once on the way home, smudging her makeup. The truth was, she had heard that Terry wasn’t the type of guy who could be trusted to stick with one girl. Despite that, she had believed that perhaps she had been the one to finally make him see the error of his ways. Of course, now she could see just how foolish she was for thinking that. Still that didn’t make the fact that Terry had lied to her, and that she had fallen for it, hurt any less.

Once she got home, she brushed aside her mother’s attempts to ask her why she came home early and stormed off to a corner of the front room. She sat down on the floor and faced the tree, hoping that the sparkle of the lights and ornaments would give her something pleasant to focus on while she tried to calm down. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely successful and she still found herself sniffling several times in misery.

“Uh, um, excuse me….”

Coco gasped and shuddered violently. She had been so wrapped up in her raging emotions, she hadn’t noticed anyone else sitting in the front room when she entered. She turned around and was horrified to find Michael sitting in a chair a few feet away, a guitar slung over his lap.

Coco pressed her hands over her face. It had been bad enough that she found out about Terry in front of her brother and sisters. Now her embarrassment increased over having her brother’s friend see her in this state. She moved into a crouching position, ready to bolt from the room.

“I…I….” she stuttered.

“Wait, wait a minute,” Mike said, holding out a hand to her. “I, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I just, um…what I mean is, I couldn’t help but notice that something must be bothering you and, and if you’d like or if you think it would help, I could listen or….”

Michael looked down and fidgeted with the guitar in his hands. Truthfully, Coco hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but the open, sincere manner that Michael projected warmed her heart.

“Oh it’s nothing,” she sighed heavily, looking away. “I just got hung up on a boy that I shouldn’t have. I knew he was a creep, but I let myself get hung up on him anyway. Isn’t that dumb?”

Michael nodded attentively before looking down the neck of his guitar and quietly strumming at the strings. Coco sniffed hard and took another deep breath.

“It’s funny, I don’t even know why I fell for him in the first place,” she continued. “I guess, I guess I just wanted to think that someone was really into me, you know. I’m sick of just being ‘everybody’s pal’ Coco. I want a guy who will see as more than that.”

“Being someone’s pal isn’t so bad,” Michael replied, looking up. “There are a lot of people in this world who could use a good friend.”

Coco let out another sigh and shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t really know why she was telling Michael this or if he could possibly understand, but she also had to admit that it felt good that someone was listening and not lecturing her on her feelings.

“As for the rest of it, well, well sometimes it’s hard for people to see what’s in front of them,” Michael continued.

“How can that be?” Coco said, incredulous. “If it’s right in front of them, then that should be the first place they’d look.”

“Um, it’s hard to explain,” Michael said, clearing his throat. “Here, if you don’t mind, I’d like to sing you something that maybe will lay all out a little better.”

Coco scooted closer to him and sat back down on the floor while arching her legs up so she could rest her arms on her knees. Michael moved toward the edge of his seat and started to play.

“ _I’ve known for a long time, the kind of girl you are. Of a smile that covers teardrops. The way your head yields to your heart.”_

Coco smiled and drew her knees closer to her. She remembered Micky telling her that Michael also sang in her brother’s band and had been curious to know what he sounded like once she had first heard his prominent Texan accent. He certainly did not sound anything like her brother, not that that was a bad thing.

“ _I’ve seen you in the sunshine. And I’ve seen you when it rains. I’ve seen you make a look of love from just an icy stare.”_

Michael’s eyes closed as he sang, his focus completely on the music. Coco felt her spirits lift as she listened to the lyrics and started to get an inkling of what he was trying to say.

“ _What you are to me, is something we can share. I’ve known you for a long time. But I’ve just begun to care….”_

By the time Michael had finished his song, Coco was finally smiling again. She had never had someone sing a song especially for her before and it had been a wonderful experience. She swiftly realized that it was impossible to keep stewing over something so stupid as a boy who wasn’t right for her anyway in the face of this moment.

“I, uh, I hope it makes a little more sense now,” Michael said, sitting his guitar between his knees. “Sometimes a person can have something right in front of him that’s really groovy, but it’s so groovy he doesn’t always notice it or maybe he takes it for granted. But that don’t mean that he isn’t grateful to have it in his life. It just means he needs to start seeing it. And once he does, he’ll cherish it and keep it close to his heart. Sure, it’s a drag when there’s someone who don’t get it, but it is what it is. You can’t rush these things.”

“Yeah, I guess I understand,” Coco said, wiping away the last smears of her makeup away from her eyes. “And it _is_ a drag, but I guess they do say that the best things in life are worth waiting for. Maybe this is what they meant by that.”

Michael nodded and bowed his head, his fingers lightly plucking at the strings near the top of his guitar. Coco smiled at him even more.

‘ _He’s so sweet,’_ she mused. ‘ _Oh, if only….’_

Coco let that last thought drift away. She liked to dream about things that could have been, but knew better than to spoil what she already had. She had heard from friends how complicated it can get when friends and family collide onto the dating scene. It wouldn’t be fair to her brother or to Michael and it was better that she not let herself get carried away.

Still, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t indulge at least one whim.

“Thanks Michael,” she said, getting up on her knees. “For the song and what you said. I won’t forget it. I promise.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured. “I’m glad to….”

Before he could say another word, Coco leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Michael’s head snapped up to look at her, his eyes wide, redness spreading all over his face. Coco leapt up to her feet and let out a giggle.

“See you at the party tonight,” she laughed as she backed out of the room. She then ran up the stairs, leaving a very bewildered Michael Nesmith in her wake.

* * *

 

Unbeknownst to Coco or Michael, there had been another person who had listened in. Janelle, still worried about the state her daughter had arrived in, had followed from a distance and had stayed out of sight in the hallway while Coco and Michael had their talk. She had also enjoyed the song that Michael had sung and was touched by his attempts to console her daughter. Janelle had wanted to march in and thank him for what he did, but decided at the last minute to hold off at least for now. It was clear that their conversation was meant be a private one and did not want to ruin the moment by revealing that she had listened in.

Instead she went to the dining room to move a couple things around in case anyone wanted lunch and was met with a surprise of her own. There, at the front of the table was a small brown flower pot with a red bow on it. The pot was filled with lovely white flowers with large blooms and delicate strands of purple on the very edges of the petals. She walked over and touched one of the flowers with the palm of her hand and discovered that they had a sweet fragrance as well. Attached was a hand-written note which Janelle tilted toward her so she could read it.

_Thank you for inviting me into your home for Christmas._

_Sincerely, Michael_

Janelle beamed and looked toward the front room. Her son’s friend had surprised her once again, and she was starting to have her doubts that this would be the last time that this would happen.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Janelle was talking with Mary while keeping an eye on the party going on around her.

She had been a bit hesitant to accept her late husband’s sister’s invitation to this gathering due to her memories of how poorly her daughters had been treated by her nephew, Lenny, last year. However, Janelle also knew that Tess would have been hurt by her absence and that the rest of the family would be looking forward to seeing Micky and the girls. Thus, she reluctantly consented with a quiet agreement between her and Mary to watch for any trouble.

So far her fears had turned out to be unwarranted. The party was a pleasant affair with plenty of good food and chances to catch up with family who she hadn’t seen in months. Tommy, Bobby and Chip were entertaining themselves with a pinball machine at a corner of the room while Coco, Debbie and Gina were hanging around a large, portable record player, picking out the music to play. At one point, Coco suggested that Micky and Mike play a couple of songs, but both of them declined, saying that they would rather give a private performance at the house than in front of a crowd without rehearsing. Instead, the two of them were spending most of their time talking to each other or greeting various members of the family.

As she ladled herself out another cup of punch, loud boisterous laughter caught Janelle’s attention. She glanced over and frowned at the sight of Lenny helping himself to a glass of something that she was certain was not punch. While Tess and Frank had decided to not serve alcohol at this party, there was still a bar in the upstairs area of the club. Thus, it wasn’t hard for her to imagine that Lenny could have snuck up for a couple drinks and had taken one back here to the party.

Another round of laughter erupted from the table where Lenny was hanging out with a couple of his friends, and Janelle rolled her eyes. Then she felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Mary standing next to her.

“It’s a shame Tess couldn’t leave Lenny at home,” Mary said. “But poor Tess, she’s such a pushover when it comes to him.”

“Maybe,” Janelle replied, sipping her punch. “Still, she should learn to put her foot down when he acts so boorish in public. The way he treated my girls last year was shameful. I know Tess assured me that he would try to behave this year, but I worry that he’ll forget about that if he keeps drinking like that.”

“Well, as long as he stays in the corner with his friends, I don’t really care if he drinks or not,” Mary huffed. “And I say that as long as he there, we shouldn’t let him ruin the occasion. Try to relax, Janelle. With any luck, he’ll get bored soon and leave.”

Janelle smiled at her and nodded despite the unease she still felt. She knew that Mary had a point and wanted to believe her assertions that nothing of note would happen. Still, she found that that was easier to think than to put into practice.

Eventually, Janelle was able to distract herself from Lenny’s activities and had struck up a lively conversation with another one of her late husband’s sisters. She was so engaged in her talk, she hadn’t noticed when Lenny had left his table until he heard another bellow from the area where her daughters were keeping watch over the music.

“Hey, hey, why don’t you play something besides this boring Christmas music,” Lenny said, his posture menacing and his arms crossed over his chest.

“Because it’s a Christmas party,” Debbie said with a sigh. “That’s what you play at a Christmas party: Christmas music.”

“Go away, Lenny,” Coco frowned. “Go upstairs to the bar if want to hear something else.”

“You need to learn to keep your mouth shut,” Lenny growled at her. “No one wants a smart-mouth girl. Let me guess, you still can’t get a guy to look at you. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Coco’s face turned a bright shade of scarlet as she looked down at the floor. Janelle sat her cup down on the buffet table and started to walk over when suddenly, Micky appeared between Lenny and Coco.

“Hey Lenny, buzz off,” Micky said. “Leave my sisters alone and find someone else to bug.”

“And here’s the one who probably taught you to have that smart mouth in the first place,” Lenny said, giving Coco one last sneer before turning his attention toward Micky. “Still as scrawny as a girl, I see. You hang around girls so much, you’re starting to look like one.”  

“Yeah, and you act like a jerk so much, you’re starting to be one,” Micky said. “Oh wait, you already are one.”

“What did you just say?” Lenny said, his nostrils flaring in anger.

“Nothing,” Micky sighed. “Look, just go away, will ya? There’s people here trying to have fun and you’re bringing them down.”

“No,” Lenny said, taking a step closer. “I want you to repeat what you just said.”

“I said that you’re a jerk, Lenny,” Micky said. “There, that wasn’t so hard to get, was it? Now why don’t you just….”

Micky was cut off by Lenny suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the wall. The drummer winced upon impact and shook his head, dazed. Janelle gasped, as did many of the other people in attendance, and ran over.

“Lenny….” she started.

“I’ll go,” Lenny roared. “But not before I teach this runt a lesson.”

Lenny raised his fist to strike Micky, but was stopped when another pair of hands grabbed his arm in hand in mid-strike. Lenny, Micky and Janelle all looked over to see that it was Michael who had intervened.

“Now hold it,” Michael drawled. “This is supposed to be a party, a time for family to get together and have fun. There’s no cause to act like this.”

“Who do you think you are?” Lenny said, shaking off Michael’s grip and whirling around to face him.

“Nobody,” Michael said. “I’m just askin’ you to cool it and move on.”

“Nobody, huh?” Lenny snarled. “Well maybe I should teach you the lesson I was going to teach him. Maybe then you’ll learn that nobodies shouldn’t get involved in stuff that’s none of their business.”

“Stop it,” Micky said, jumping over alongside him. “Leave him alone, Lenny. Your beef’s with me so just….”

Lenny shoved Micky hard, knocking him back against the wall. Almost the same instant he did that, a fist landed square on Lenny’s jaw. He stumbled backwards onto the ground while Michael stood over him. He looked up at the lanky man in front of him, rubbing his painfully sore jaw.

“I think you broke it,” he whined. “That’s it, I’m gonna….”

“You’re going to do nothing,” Michael said quietly. “You’re not going to cause any more trouble. You’re going to get up off that floor and leave.”

Lenny’s mouth opened to reply, but he immediately stopped when he caught a glimpse of the look in Michael’s eyes. Janelle saw it too and shuddered in response. Gone was any trace of the quiet geniality that she had gotten used to over the past day. Instead, Michael’s eyes were filled with cold, hard anger, his posture poised to strike again if the situation called for it.

His bluff called, Lenny grumbled and got up to slink away without another word. The friends he was sitting with followed, leaving a stunned group of people in their wake.

Once he was out of sight, Michael hissed and grimaced while shaking his hand back and forth. Then he caught a glimpse of how many of the other party-goers were looking at him. Michael ducked his head and backed over to the staircase.

“Um, I’ll see you later, Mick,” he muttered. After that, he dashed up the staircase and out of the club. Micky had started to race after him, but one look at his mother and sisters had stopped him.

“I, I’m sorry, Mom,” he said, bowing his head.

Coco, Gina, and Debbie moved closer to their brother and put their arms around him. It wasn’t long before Janelle walked over and placed her hands on either side of her son’s face.

‘ _Oh Micky….’_

* * *

 

The mood at the party was subdued for the rest of the evening, but thankfully not totally ruined. By the time Janelle, Mary, Micky, and the girls got back to Janelle’s house, their spirits had mostly recovered. Micky had immediately looked for Michael once they got home, but could find no sign of him.

“The Monkeemoble’s here,” Micky sighed gloomily. “I figured he’d be here too. I guess he’s really bugged now.”

Janelle had asked if maybe they should look for him, but Micky rejected the idea.

“It’s better to give him space when he’s like this,” the drummer sighed again. “I’ll wait for him in my room. He’ll go there eventually.”

Janelle reluctantly went along with her son’s decision, conceding that he knew Michael better than she did. She then spent the next couple of hours finishing up a few chores and preparing the house for Christmas Eve activities tomorrow.

She was just about to go to bed when she noticed Michael sitting on the back porch again, his gaze distant. A part of her was still rattled at the behavior he had exhibited at the party, but the completely miserable look on his face compelled her to put those feelings aside. She stepped outside, rubbing her hands over her arms as she did so. Michael turned around to see who had come outside before going back to staring at some indefinite point in the yard.

“Michael,” Janelle said. “It’s getting cold out here. Why don’t you come inside now?”

“Not sure if I should,” he mumbled with a shrug.

“Well I’m sure that I don’t want any of my guests sitting out here and freezing,” Janelle replied. “Come on, now. We can talk inside.”

Michael shrugged again and got up to follow her back into the house. As they walked into the kitchen, Janelle noted that Michael was still holding his hand stiffly.

“Does your hand still hurt?” she asked him.

“Not that much,” Michael said. “Just a little sore is all.”

“Here, let me put something on it,” Janelle offered.

She picked up a small tea towel and put it under the faucet. After wetting it down with some cool water, she carefully wrapped it around Michael’s hand.

“Um, Mrs. Dolenz….”

“Janelle,” she corrected. “I told you, you don’t have to be so formal with me.”

“Um, ok, Janelle,” Michael said. “I, well, I want to apologize for how I acted earlier. That man was family and I shouldn’t have hit him. I, I don’t want you to think anything bad about Mick ‘cause of something I….”

“Michael, it’s all right,” she said, gently stroking his hand. “I would have preferred that you hadn’t hit him, but I can hardly get angry at you for trying to protect my son. Besides, Lenny has been a bully for far too long. Perhaps it’s just as well that someone stood up to him and gave him something to think about.”

Janelle finished wrapping his hand up and looked up into Michael’s eyes.

“And trust me, I don’t think any differently about Micky for bringing you here,” she continued. “Other than pleased that my son has learned to choose his friends wisely and has the heart to care about them so much.”

Michael blushed and Janelle took a step back to give him some breathing space.

“Uh, about that,” Michael said. “I was hoping to explain things there a little. What I mean is, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of my family. My ma, she’s had it tough ever since she met my father. And after he left…well, it didn’t get a whole lot easier. That don’t mean that she isn’t a good mother and all. She’s always done her best for me. But this thing with some of our relatives…it’s not one of those things that’s just going to go away any time soon. It’s, it’s complicated.”

“Family often is,” Janelle said.

“That’s true enough,” Michael said. “Anyway, I don’t know all about what Mick told you, but it’s not like my ma don’t care at all. I know she’s trying to spare me from things and I thought, um, what I wanted was to make things easier for her.”

“I see,” Janelle replied. “But sometimes when two people work to make things easier for each other, it also means that they both have to be a little sad too.”

“Yeah,” Michael said, looking down at the floor. “I wasn’t sure if Mick understood that.”

“On some level, I imagine he does,” Janelle said. “But I also know that my son believes that everyone should be happy and tries his best to make that happen for the people around him. And when that isn’t feasible, he has a hard time reconciling with it. It’s an admirable trait, but I can also see where it makes it hard for him to fully appreciate situations like yours.”

Janelle reached up and gingerly placed her palm onto Michael’s cheek, her fingers stroking the edge of one of his sideburns. He lifted his gaze from the floor to look at her.

“There’s something I’d like to say to you too, Michael,” she said. “I want to thank you for looking after my son and for what you did for Coco. All of it means more to mean than I can ever express.”

“I..I…I don’t know….” he stuttered. “Thank you. I mean, you’re welcome. I….”

“And thank you for the lovely flowers,” Janelle added. “I’ve never seen any like that before.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Michael said. “And, the flowers, they’re from Texas. We call them ‘Angel’s Trumpets’. Ma always keeps some in her garden. She loves them, and I, well I thought that maybe you’d like them too.”

“I do,” Janelle said. “Thank you again.” She moved her hand down to give his forearm a light squeeze. “And don’t worry about the rest of your stay here. All of us agree that Lenny got what he deserved and do not think any less of you for it. So I hope you’ll not keep yourself away from us while you’re here.”

“Thank you,” Michael said. “And I won’t.”

“Good,” she beamed at him. “Now, you should go upstairs and get some rest. At the very least, let Micky know where you are. I’m pretty sure he’s worried about you.”

He nodded again and gave a little wave before heading off to the stairwell. Janelle leaned back against the countertop and crossed her arms over her chest. The evening hadn’t been a perfect one, but it hadn’t been terrible either.

And now it was starting to look like the holiday spirit within her house was going up after all.  


	4. Chapter 4

**December 24**

Compared to all the activity on the previous day, Christmas Eve was significantly quieter.

Rather than accept any more party invitations, the Dolenz family decided to spend the day at home. Janelle, Mary and Bruce worked together to get the house ready for tomorrow and prepared both dinner and what would be brunch along with several batches of Christmas cookies. Micky’s sisters spent the time wrapping all the presents that were not for them, leaving Janelle to handle the rest. Meanwhile, Micky kept the boys entertained by playing games with them and telling them about his many adventures in Malibu.

Throughout this, Mike maintained a quiet presence. He lent a hand wherever he could in the kitchen and then spent much of the rest of the time listening to Micky’s wildly over-dramatic accounts of the guys’ mishaps. Other times, Mike would retreat by himself to some isolated area of the house.  Janelle worried that he was still a little self-conscious over what had happened at the party. Still, she also remembered Micky’s comment that the Texan liked to have time to himself and tried to not dwell on her concerns too much.

Later in the evening, Micky sent the boys off to play by themselves and pulled Janelle aside. He asked her to tell everyone to go to the front room after dinner for some “Christmas entertainment” before taking off to his room with Mike in tow. Having had no idea what her son meant by that, Janelle was instantly intrigued and was looking forward to whatever the two of them had planned.

About an hour later, dinner ended up being a festive affair. Mary and Janelle had cooked a feast so large; everyone was able to have their fill with plenty of leftovers. By that point, Micky and Mike had reappeared, but they remained tight-lipped about their plans for after dinner. Aside from that, Micky was in his usual exuberant spirits.

Surprisingly enough, Mike also appeared to be in a relaxed mood. He smiled and laughed more frequently than he had previously and readily joined in with the conversations at the table. This left Janelle feeling a great deal of relief and added to the jovial atmosphere that was clearly present at the meal.

Once it was over, Janelle led everyone to the front room. They all waited in near silence for a couple of minutes until the jingle of bells caught their attention.

Shortly afterward, Micky and Mike marched into the room. Micky had donned a Santa coat and hat with a fake beard and was carrying a small sack over his shoulder. Mike had followed him wearing a fancy green shirt and pants with green slippers that curled upward at the toes. He had kept his green hat on his head and was carrying a bell that he continued to ring. He also had a guitar slung against his back. He sat the bell down and waved toward Micky who stepped forward.

“Ho ho ho,” Micky boomed, dropping the sack to the floor next to his feet. “Merry Christmas. Santa Claus is here to give all of you one last round of the holiday spirit before the big day tomorrow. Ho ho ho.” He whirled around the room, the side of his hand pressed against his forehead. “And what do I see before, hmmmm? Has everyone here been good boys and girls this year?”

“Yes,” everyone answered back, laughter making its way into their voices.

“But you’re too skinny to be Santa Claus,” Chip said.

“Yeah, and you’re too tall to be an elf,” Tommy chimed in.

“Well my mother fed me a lot of vitamins,” Mike smirked at him. “How else are we supposed to get to the stuff on the top shelves of Santa’s workshop?”

“And of course, I’m skinny,” Micky replied, not missing a beat. “It’s part of my New’s Year resolution from last year. If I kept on getting fatter and fatter, I wouldn’t be able to make it down all those chimneys. Boy you should have seen it last Christmas. There was this one house that had a bunch of butter cookies waiting for me. By the time I was done there, I could only get the top part of me up out of that chimney. Fortunately, the reindeer are very resourceful and they were able to….”

“Uh, Santa, don’t you think we should be gettin’ on with this,” Mike interrupted. “After all, we’ve got a lot of places to get to tonight.”

“Good point, my trusty elf, good point,” Micky nodded. “As you all know, Santa’s got a very big night ahead of him. All those houses, all those children, and all those presents. That’s why that it’s vital that nothing goes wrong. We must be organized and prepared for anything and everything.”

The boys laughed with Coco, Gina and Debbie soon joining in. Micky grinned at them for a moment before changing his expression to look more serious. Then he spun on his heel and moved closer to Mike.

“Tell me, my trusty elf,” he said. “Is everything ready for tonight?”

“Yeah, it’s ready,” Mike said, looking down at his hands while fidgeting with his fingers. “Everything’s….”

Suddenly, Micky nudged him hard which stopped Mike from talking. The Texan cleared his throat loudly.

“I mean, oh yes it is, Santa Claus,” Mike said, his voice several octaves higher. “Everything’s all set for you to go.”

“Yes, yes, good,” Micky nodded. “Then all the presents are wrapped and ready in my sleigh?”

“Yes,” Mike squeaked amid plenty of laughter. “We got ‘em stuffed in there…all those boxes crammed in as tight as….”

“And what of my sleigh itself?” Micky interjected.

“Oh the sleigh is good too,” Mike answered. “Yep, we’ve got those runners all oiled up and the reindeer hitched on. It should run as fast as a….”

“But wait,” Micky said dramatically as he swept a hand across his brow. “What about the weather? It’s all well and good to have the presents and the sleigh ready to go, but what if I can’t see where I’m going up there? I could run into a balloon or an airplane or a spaceship or something. And what would that do to the Christmas spirit?”

“Well now wait a minute,” Mike said. “What about ol’ Rudolph? You know, big red shiny nose and all that. Why don’t you just take him along?”

“Uh-uh, Rudolph is a no-go,” Micky said, shaking his head and putting his hands on his hips. “Nose is on the fritz. Caught a cold from staying out too late with Comet this last week. Man, if I told them once, I told those reindeer a thousand times to stop hanging around those ice floes on the wrong side of town.”

“The wrong side of town?” Mike echoed. “At the North Pole?”

“Where else?” Micky said. “I told them that those penguins were up to no good, but would they listen? Oh no. I blame Cupid for this. He always was one for playing around. But never mind that, what I, and all the children around the world, need to know is: will Santa be able to drive his sleigh tonight?”

“Well…let’s see,” Mike drawled. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pair of large, wire-rimmed spectacles from his pants’ pocket. The Texan unfolded the paper, shoved the glasses onto his face, and cleared his throat loudly.

“Now here’s the latest weather report,” Mike said, making his normal Texas twang much more pronounced and higher pitched than usual. “It looks like icy clouds over New York. Cloudy ice over Montana. And a clear night with plenty of rain over Florida. The rest of the country is just fine as they is. Conditions should continue until they stop for the rest of the world too.”

Janelle put a hand over her mouth as she vibrated with laughter. By this point, everyone in the room was smiling and giggling over Mike and Micky’s antics. She remembered Micky telling her about Mike’s unique sense of humor and was charmed to see it on display here.

“Ho, ho, ho. It’s perfect,” Micky laughed. “This means Santa will be a go after all. Christmas is saved and everyone will have a very, merry holiday. And now, let’s make way with the merry making. Hit it, my trusty elf.”

Mike nodded as he took off the glasses and put them and the paper back in his pocket. Then he moved the guitar to the front. Micky picked up the bag from the floor. The drummer opened it up and pulled out a handful of candy canes.

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly….” Micky sang. He walked around to hand out the candy to everyone in the room. Meanwhile, Mike sang along and played on his guitar.

Once Micky was done, he encouraged the rest of them to sing with them. The two of them led the family through a few more carols before slowly backing out of the room as the final chorus was being sung on the last song. When they returned, they had gotten back into their normal clothes and each of them had a white candle in their hands. Mike struck a match against the fireplace mantle and lit both candles.

“Well, this is pretty much the end of our Christmas show,” Micky said. “We hope you liked it. So now we’d like to finish with one more song to wish everyone a good night.”

Micky looked over at Mike, silently mouthing a countdown. At zero, Mike sang the opening verse of _Riu Chiu_. It was a bit odd, having just the two of them sing it without Davy and Peter, but Micky figured that they could pull it off. Not only did he do most of the verses solo anyway, Micky also knew that he and Mike sounded great as a duo. After finishing the last line, they blew out their candles and bowed their heads slightly.

“Merry Christmas,” they said softly in unison.

There was a moment of silence in the room. Then everyone else applauded and cheered loudly while Mike and Micky took a couple of bows. Janelle walked over to give Micky a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

“Your show was wonderful,” she said. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” Mike said bashfully.

“Ah, it was nothing,” Micky smiled, waving his hand. He hugged his mother back. “We just wanted to thank you guys for having us both over here and all that.”

“Oh of course,” Janelle said. “Just know though that you are always welcome here. Both of you.” She then walked over to give Mike a brief hug as well. Mike blushed, but still smiled in response.

“Hey Micky!”

The three of them turned around to see Chip, Bobby and Tommy smiling at them.

“What?” Micky said with a nervous laugh. “Hey…wait a minute. If this is about those pirate attack lesson from earlier, I said that there would be no more paybacks. Remember? We called a cease-fire to our feud.”

The boys looked at each other, their grins growing wider. Then they all slowly advanced toward Micky.

“Wait,” Micky yelped. “Come on now. Remember what I said a little bit ago. Santa won’t stop by the house if you try to attack him.”

“But you’re not Santa anymore,” Chip replied.

“Now, you’re just plain old Micky,” Tommy agreed.

“Get him!” Bobby shouted.

With that, all three boys tried to pounce on Micky. But the drummer was quicker; ducking from their grasp and running out of the room. Janelle and Mike watched the scene silently while rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.

“Honestly, those boys will be the death of me before Christmas is over,” Janelle said. “There seems to be no end to how much my son can wind those cousins of his up.”

“Well that’s to be expected,” Mike shrugged. “What with Micky being about the same mental age as them.”

“That’s true enough,” Janelle laughed. “I doubt that Micky will ever grow up entirely. Nor am I sure that I want him to. Still, it was easier to deal with him when he was a small boy. I can only imagine how tough it must be for you to keep him in line these days.”

“It ain’t easy, that’s for sure,” Mike replied with a grin of his own. “But I don’t think I’d want things to change either.”

Suddenly, Micky dashed past them toward the basement with the three boys in close pursuit.

“Not the towels! Not the towels!” the drummer shrieked as he went by. There was the sound of a door slamming a few moments later along with pitiful yelling.

“No, I’m sure I wouldn’t want them to change either,” Janelle laughed. “Michael, I was wondering. Would you mind helping me in the kitchen for a few minutes? I just need to finish putting everything away for tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Mike replied.

They heard another cry of help from Micky, but chose to ignore it as they made their way to the kitchen.

* * *

 

Almost three hours later, the house was quiet again. The adults had gone to bed as had Micky’s sisters and cousins. Only Mike and Micky were still awake. The two of them sat down in the front room on the floor in front of the couch to watch the blinking lights on the Christmas tree and the flickering flames in the fireplace.

After a few minutes of this, Micky jumped to his feet and went to the kitchen. When he returned, he had a plate of cookies and a couple of glasses of milk.

“Hey, weren’t those cookies supposed to be left out for Santa?” Mike asked, pointing at the plate.

“They were,” Micky said. “But I am Santa, remember? Or I was Santa just a few hours ago. And you were my trusty elf. The way I see it, we’ve got just as much right to sample a few of these cookies.”

Mike couldn’t see a way to argue with that logic nor did he really try to come up with one. Instead, he nodded as Micky sat back down and handed him a glass of milk. The drummer perched the plate onto his lap. They ate the cookies and milk quietly and continued to enjoy the beauty of the decorations all around the room. Once they were done, Micky set the dishes aside onto a nearby coffee table.

“I’ve got something for you,” Micky announced. He got up and reached behind some books on a bookcase. He pulled out a small, bulging Christmas stocking.

“Here you go,” he said, holding it out to Mike.

“What’s this?” Mike asked, an eyebrow raised.

“What does it look like?” Micky laughed. “It’s a stocking. Someone told me once that their family used to give each other stockings to enjoy on Christmas Eve. I didn’t know if your family did that, but sounded like a really groovy tradition to share, so I thought we could try it out.”

“Well thank you, Mick,” Mike said warmly. “But I, I didn’t get you one.”

“Aw, that’s fine,” Micky said as he sat back down next to him. “I figure if it works out, we can both do it next year. Go on. Open it up. See what’s inside.”

Mike turned the stocking over and shook it. Several pieces of hard candy and some peanuts fell out along with a paddle with a ball attached by an elastic string and a slingshot. The Texan stared at the items on his lap for a moment before finally looking back up at Micky.

“Yeah, it’s kid’s stuff really,” Micky said with another laugh. “But that was sorta the point, ya know? I wanted you to have some of that this year. Kid’s fun. I mean, what’s Christmas without a little of that going around, right?”

Mike picked up the toys and examined them silently. He did this for several moments, and Micky was starting to wonder if this had been a good idea.

“Um, Mike? Is it ok? I mean, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to….”

“Micky,” Mike finally said, lifting his head. “I…I don’t know what to say. I, um, thank you, really. I really, really like it.”

“You’re welcome,” Micky grinned back at him. “I’m just glad you like ‘em.”

“I do,” Mike said with a shy smile on his face. “I always wanted one of these paddleball things, but no one would get me one. And I haven’t had a slingshot for years. It’s, it’s perfect. All of it. Thank you, Mick.”

Micky’s smile grew. It was a goofy gift to be sure, but he was relieved that Mike had appreciated the spirit behind it. The drummer leaned back against the couch and watched as Mike inspected his sling shot even more carefully. After a minute of this, Mike carefully moved his things to the side.

“I’ve got something to give you too,” the Texan said.

“Really?!” Micky exclaimed. “What? What is it?” He sat up straight with wide, eager eyes.

“Just a minute,” Mike said. He got to his feet and took the dishes away. When he came back, he had a foil wrapped ball in his hands.

“I was goin’ give you this tomorrow,” he said, handing it to Micky. “Just for somethin’ extra. But I guess it’s just as good to give it to you now.”

“Thanks,” Micky said gleefully, taking the ball from Mike’s hand. He then brought it closer to his face. “Hey, this is one of those chocolate orange things, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Mike said before sitting back down. “I saw it in a store when I was out the other day. Thought you might like it.”

“Sure, I’ve always wanted to try one,” Micky responded. “You know, I heard that there’s a trick to these things.”

“A trick?” Mike said, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, something about whacking it against something hard,” Micky said. “It’s supposed to make it so it’ll break apart into these neat little wedges for eating.”

“Sounds cool,” Mike said. “But I don’t know if we should do that out here. We might wake someone up or break something.”

“Nah, my family’s a bunch of sound sleepers,” Micky assured him. “And besides, we’re down here and they’re all upstairs. They won’t hear anything.” The drummer’s eyes darted around the room. “I know, I’ll hit it against the fireplace mantle. It’s stone, so it won’t hurt anything.”

Micky leapt to his feet and ran over to the fireplace. Mike sat up, leaning his head forward to watch.

“Mick…be careful.”

“Aw come on, Mike,” Micky scoffed. “What do you mean ‘be careful’? It’s just chocolate. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“Uh-huh,” Mike nodded, raising his eyebrows again.

Micky sighed dramatically and then gave Mike a confident grin before smashing the ball against the mantle. It made a deep ‘thud’ as it hit which caused both of them to flinch.

“See, it’s fine,” Micky declared. “Look.”

He held up the foil wrapped treat in the palm of his hand. It retained its shape for a few seconds and then appeared to collapse inward.

“What did you do to it?” Mike asked.

“Nothing man,” Micky said scooting back to sit with him again. “I just hit it like everyone says to do.”

Micky tore the wrapping off the chocolate. As soon as he did, the ball fell apart into many jagged pieces.

“I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to turn out, babe,” Mike smirked at him.

“I don’t get it,” Micky frowned. “It shouldn’t have done that. What happened to the wedges?”

“I think you obliterated them,” Mike chuckled. “I told you to be careful.”

Micky huffed and shoved a couple pieces into his mouth.

“No big deal,” he said, his mouth full. “It tastes just fine. Here, have some.”

Mike chuckled again and took a few pieces. They both continued to pop the bits into their mouths until it was gone with Micky brushing his hands against his jeans to get rid of a few last thin slivers.

“See, no problem,” Micky said. “Ok, so it didn’t look perfect, but all that matters was that it was good, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Mike smiled at him. “Glad you liked it anyway. And thanks for sharing.”

“No problem,” Micky grinned back. He slid down into a slouching position. “I love Christmas. This has been the most fun I’ve had…well, in a long time. Since I was a kid probably.”

“Me too,” Mike nodded. “Thanks for bringin’ me.”

“You’re welcome,” Micky said again.

He continued to stare at the Christmas tree, his eyes drooping from the long, energetic day he had spent. Mike unwrapped one of the candies from his stocking and popped it in his mouth. Then he picked up his paddleball. It took a few tries, but eventually he was able to get the ball moving in a rhythm.

After a few moments of this, he looked over at Micky to see that the drummer had fallen asleep.

Mike smiled and shook his head. He wasn’t surprised that Micky was tired out. Micky had spent a lot of the day playing boisterous kids. Mike knew that he probably should wake Micky up and encourage him to go to bed in his room. That thought was punctuated by a yawn of his own, clueing him in on his own tiredness.

Nevertheless, something about the peaceful way that Micky was sleeping made it difficult for Mike to want to wake him. Instead, he grabbed a pair of pillows and a large quilt from the back of the couch. He carefully tucked one pillow behind Micky and spread the blanket across the two of them. Then he pushed the other pillow behind him and leaned down against it.

They probably should have gone to bed rather than stay there. Mike figured he probably would get Micky up so they could go to bed before too long.

For now though, Mike was content to stay and enjoy the happy Christmas atmosphere for just a little while longer.  


	5. Chapter 5

**December 25**

Christmas morning came quietly to the Dolenz household. The sun was hazy behind wispy clouds which were moving quickly across the sky. The light provided little warmth to the chilled air. A sparkle of frost twinkled along the edges of every surface. Thus, dawn moved slowly, but steadily toward a house that was still with slumber.

However, that silence did not last very long. The boys were the first to awaken and had popped out of their beds. Although they did manage to restrain themselves enough to not shout their greetings to Christmas Day; they did run about the house, giggling. Their footsteps thundered up and down the staircase. Soon, the noise woke up Janelle, who put on a housecoat and made her way to the kitchen.

The girls followed soon after that, and less than thirty minutes later, everyone was at least semi awake and had gathered in the front room near the tree. Most of the adults clutched a mug of coffee in their hands while the younger people were fueled by the excitement of the holiday. Eventually, that energy spread to everyone and they all were enjoying the infectious spirit of giddy joy and fun.

Micky volunteered to hand out the presents, a job he threw himself into wholeheartedly even if it wasn’t seriously. He announced each gift with a wave of his hand and an overly dramatic voice as he handed it to its recipient. After a few gifts, Micky grew bored with this approach and fell back on dashing about while shouting out who each gift belonged to. As he worked, he built up a pile of gifts that were meant for him that he sat on the floor next to where Mike was setting.

Brightly colored paper was flung about while plenty of smiles, laughter and thank yous filled the room. The stack of gifts under the tree was swiftly whittled down which made Micky finally start to slow his movements.

“Micky, hey, Mick,” Mike said, tapping the drummer’s arm as Micky walked by him. “Aren’t you goin’ to open any of your presents?”

“Nah, not yet,” Micky answered. “I’m almost done handing stuff out anyway. Besides, it’s more fun to have a big stack of presents to open all at once rather than just getting ‘em one at a time. Oh and I wanted to grab a couple more cookies before I started.”

Mike smiled ruefully, shaking his head as he cupped his hands around his mug. He watched everyone open presents and then marvel over what was inside.

Once all of the presents were handed, Micky headed off to the kitchen. Less than a minute later, he returned with a small plate of cookies and a glass of milk. He sat them down on a stand next to Mike.

Then he smiled widely at Mike before reaching behind one of the chairs and pulling out three more boxes.

“Here ya go,” the drummer said, passing them over to Mike. “Merry Christmas.”

“Wait, wait a minute,” Mike spluttered as he tried to find a place to sit his coffee mug so he could accept the packages. “Where, um, I mean who….”

“My family decided at the last minute to get you a couple things,” Micky laughed, plopping down onto the floor next to him. “’Cause no one should have to face Christmas morning without at least one present to open.”

“Micky, I…I don’t know what to say. Thank you. But I…I can’t….”

“Oh pish, sure you can,” Micky said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It’s no big deal. Everyone chipped in, so it’s not like it broke anyone’s bank. Go on. Open them up.”

Mike smiled and carefully peeled the wrapping paper and ribbon off the first two boxes. Inside one of them was a cream colored sweater with light tan pinstripes framing a larger black band around the chest. In the other one was a scarf and a pair of house slippers. The Texan picked up each item and looked them over thoroughly.

“Thank you, Micky,” Mike repeated. “And um, thanks to everyone else too. These are all really groovy.”

Janelle, Mary and Bruce all nodded their heads in acknowledgment. Coco also gave him a brief smile, but was soon distracted again by excitable sisters and rowdy cousins.

Micky laughed and got to work opening his own presents while Mike continued to admire his gifts. He tore open a couple of the packages before giving Mike a hard shove to the arm.

“Hey, you’ve still got one more present left, babe,” he said. “That last one is from me.”

Mike gave him a questioning look as he unwrapped the last package. His bemusement grew once he got a look at what was inside.

“Micky? What is this?”

The Texan reached inside and pulled out a plush koala bear. Mike turned the bear around to look into its glass eyes while Micky scooted over closer to him.

“Neat huh?” he said. “The place I got him from said that he’s actually from Australia.”

“That is groovy,” Mike nodded, still staring at the bear. Then he looked over at Micky. “But Micky, you didn’t have to do this. Why, why did you…?”

“Well sure, I didn’t have to do it,” Micky replied. “But I wanted to. I got to thinking about how you probably didn’t have a lot of fun on Christmas while growing up, so I thought it’d be nice if I could bring some of that back. You know, that child-like fun about Christmas. I mean, yeah that was kind of the point with the stocking last night. But I wanted you to have a really unexpected, special gift for today too.”

Mike was silent, still gazing at the bear while Micky shifted about nervously.

“Um, you do like it, right?” the drummer asked. “’Cause if not, it’s not a….”

“Mick, I…it’s one of the best presents I ever got in my whole life,” Mike interrupted, his tone both serious and sincere. “Thank you. But I…I didn’t get you anything else.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” Micky assured him.

“But Micky, I….”

“Look, babe,” Micky said, putting a hand onto the Texan’s forearm. “You’re always taking care of me and Davy and Pete. So many times you’d put yourself out just so we’d be ok. And tons of times you went through all sorts of trouble just to take care of our messes. The way I see it, it’s about time you come first for a change and someone did something just to make you happy.”

“But Micky, I…” Mike said, his eyes watery. “Y’all know I don’t mind that. Being with y’all…that makes me happy enough.”

“I know,” Micky said, his voice soft. “I mean, we all know that. But that doesn’t mean we don’t wish that we could do more for you. Think of this as a chance to do a little of that.”

Mike looked down at his present and smiled. He took a deep breath and blinked his eyes rapidly several times to get the moisture out of them. Meanwhile, Micky relaxed and grinned again. He figured that Mike was struggling to process the gift and decided that something to lighten the mood was called for.

“Of course, you’ll have to give him a name,” he said. “After all the miles he’s traveled to get here; you can’t leave him without a name.”

Mike chuckled and took another deep breath. He lifted the bear close to his face and looked into its eyes again.

“Nelson.”

“Nelson?” Micky repeated. “Yeah, I can dig that. But why that name?”

“I don’t know,” Mike shrugged. “It just seemed right, I guess.”

“I suppose that’s as good of a reason as any,” Micky said with a laugh.

After that, Micky turned his attention back to his own pile of gifts. His mom and his sisters liked to take their time to unwrap their presents so they could savor the moment and maybe save pieces of the wrapping paper. But Micky took the opposite approach. Rip, tear, shred. That was his motto. Bits of paper flew up in a frenzy around Micky has he finished opening his gifts.

Once in a while, the drummer took a break from his manic shredding to look over at Mike. The Texan alternated between playing with his paddle ball toy, looking over his latest presents and just watching Micky with an amused expression on his face. During all of that, the stuffed koala stayed in Mike’s lap and a smile was fixed on his lips.

Micky grinned even more. He had gotten plenty of terrific presents from his family that morning. And Micky appreciated and enjoyed every single one of them. However, none of those gifts made him feel quite the same kind of joy that he got over seeing the look of thankfulness and contentment on Mike’s face.

“Hey! Hey, look outside!” Chip said as he bounced up and down and pointed at the window. “It’s snowing!”

Mike, Micky, and his sisters and cousins all jumped up and gathered around the windows. Sure enough, large white flakes were quickly blanketing the trees and ground.

“Wow! Man, it hardly ever snows around here at Christmas,” Micky said gleefully. “This is great.”

“Trust me, it snows even less than that where I come from,” Mike added. “This is probably the first white Christmas I’ve had.”

“Really? That’s great,” Micky said. “Hey, let’s go outside. We can build snowmen and make snow angels and all kinds of stuff.”

“Yeah!” Chip, Tommy, and Bobby cheered simultaneously.

“Hold on,” Janelle said, raising her hands. “We need to clean up the front room first. And have all of you forgotten about Christmas brunch?”

“Aw, but Mom,” Micky whined. “It’s Christmas and it’s really snowing for once. And, and Mike just said he’d never had a Christmas like this before.”

“You know, your mom has a point about cleaning up first,” Mike said. “And after staying up so late last night, I could use another coffee…and somethin’ to eat.”

“Yeah, all right,” Micky huffed with an exaggerated frown. “But let’s hurry up. I don’t wanna miss out on the snow.”

“Oh don’t worry about that,” Janelle laughed. “I have a feeling that this now isn’t going to disappear right away. Now, how about we start with gathering up all this wrapping paper….”

* * *

 

A couple of hours later, Janelle and Mary were in the kitchen finishing up the dishes.

The cleanup of the front room had went smoothly with everyone working together to pick things up. That allowed Janelle to focus on tending to heating and serving the food that had been made the night before while Mary set the table.

Just like dinner the night before, the meal was vast in both quantity and variety of dishes. This time though, everyone seemed even hungrier which meant that there were a lot less leftovers. Micky and his cousins ate and then cleared the table as fast as they could. The impatience behind their actions did not go unnoticed by Janelle.

“All right boys,” she said. “If you are done, go ahead and play outside. But make sure to dress warmly. And don’t stay outside for too long. The last thing I need around here is anyone catching cold.”

She got plenty of reassurances from Micky and the boys before they rushed outside. Michael stayed behind for a moment to let her know that he’d keep an eye on things before walking out to join them.

Back in the present, Janelle scrubbed the edges of the casserole dish in her hands. She thought back to late last night when she went downstairs to get herself a warm glass of milk. She had peeked out into the front room to find Micky sleeping in front of the tree.

Janelle had watched him for a moment before walking into the front room. She was about to nudge him awake when she saw that Michael was slumped against the couch next to him. The Texan had a pillow at the small of his back and was fast asleep.

She had let out a sigh. A part of her knew that they would be more comfortable in Micky’s room. Still, the way they were both sleeping made her reluctant to disturb them.

Instead, she had retrieved a pair of old quilts to cover them. She draped one onto Micky who didn’t even stir. She was just about to do the same with Michael when his eyes opened.

“It’s all right, Michael,” she murmured. “You don’t have to get up. I was just going to….” She motioned with the blanket in her hands to indicate her intentions.

Michael looked over at Micky before settling back in against the couch and closing his eyes. Janelle gently laid the blanket in onto him and quietly left the room.

Thinking about it now, Janelle felt her heart grow heavy as she completed the washing. Michael’s reserved, cautious demeanor along with references to a hard childhood and some discomfort over physical contact indicated to her that people had not always been very kind to him as a child. It didn’t take long for her to form some conclusions about what might have happened to him.

Janelle put the last of the dishes aside and sighed again. When she discovered that she was pregnant with Micky, she and her husband had a long discussion about how they would handle physical punishments. A light swat to the bottom was as far as they were willing to go. Once their children got older; they even stopped doing that. But she knew that other parents went much further in their discipline. A fact that was dreadful to think about. Still, the fact that Mike wanted to see his family gave her the hope that his childhood wasn’t all so bad.

“Looks like the snow is slowing down,” Mary said, peering at the window. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a Christmas with snow. I’m sure this will be a real treat for the boys.”

“Yes,” Janelle said, trying to smile again. “I know Micky will have a wonderful time. And I am sure that Michael will enjoy such a rare sight.”

“Yes indeed,” Mary nodded. She reached up to put a stack of plates in the cupboard. “I’m glad that Micky brought him over to celebrate Christmas with us. He seems like a nice young man.”

“I’m glad too,” Janelle agreed. “I think Michael is a good influence on Micky. And he and Micky seem very close. I just….”

“Janelle? What is it?”

“Oh it’s nothing,” Janelle said. “It’s just…once in a while, I wish I’d been able to give Micky a brother. I know he loves his sisters dearly and doesn’t regret growing up with them. But seeing him with Michael, I just know that he would have truly enjoyed having a brother to grow up with too.”

“Oh Janelle, I wouldn’t dwell too much on that,” Mary smile at her.

“You wouldn’t?”

“No,” Mary said, patting Janelle’s hands. “Because it all worked out in the end. You said that Micky probably would have liked to have had a brother. It seems to me that he was able to find one for himself.”

* * *

 

Outside, Mike, Micky and the boys marveled at the sight around them.

By this point the snow had stopped, but as Janelle had predicted, it had not melted away yet. Instead, it had accumulated into four inch deep covering. Mike had put on his new sweater and scarf under his jacket and was silently taking in the sight of it all.

“Man, this is great,” Micky said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s make a snowman.”

“Aw, that’s kid’s stuff, Micky,” Bobby scoffed.

“Yeah, let’s do something more fun,” Tommy said.

“Oh all right,” Micky said. “But what?”

Before anyone could make a suggestion, a snowball sailed past everyone’s heads. It was immediately followed by the sound of muffled laughter. All of them scanned their surroundings, but only Micky was able to spot a blur of dark coats rushing behind some bushes in a neighboring yard.

“I knew it,” Micky hissed. “It’s the Davis kids from across the street. Their older brothers were a menace when I was in high school.”

“Hey, we can’t let them get away with that,” Chip said.

“Yeah, we can build a fort over by that tree,” Tommy said. “And then we can plan on how to get back at them.”

“Now, now hold on,” Mike said, holding up his hands at them. “Now let’s not let this get out of hand. I’m sure if we just let them know that we don’t want a fight with them they’ll….”

Another snowball flew through the air. This one larger and much faster. It hit Mike’s head, or more accurately, it hit his hat near the top, knocking it clean off. The Texan looked at his hat laying on the ground for less than ten seconds before looking over at Micky and his cousins with determination burning in his eyes.

“Now that, that there means war,” he drawled.

* * *

 

About fifteen minutes and several assaults with snowballs later, Mike Micky and the boys were huddled behind a snow wall that was shaped like a half moon around a wide tree trunk. The Davis boys had made a fort of their own near the bushes where they were hiding before. Both sides had managed to pelt each other with a few snowballs. However, neither side had gained any clear advantage.

Mike inched upward, poking his head out just enough to see over the top of the fort. His hat still had a few crusts of snow sticking near the pompom. They had made a couple of dents in the Davis kids’ fort with the last barrage, but they weren’t doing enough damage so they could put an end to this snowball war.

“What we need,” he said. “Is to upgrade our weaponry.”

“Well, sure, but how are we gonna do that?” Micky asked. “All we have are snowballs. It’s not like we should throw rocks at them or something.”

“I have an idea,” Mike replied. “But y’all will need to cover me while I go back into the house.”

* * *

 

A few moments later, Stewart Davis was wondering what was going on.

He had watched the lanky one with the hat skulk back into the house. Unfortunately, the hail of snowballs from coming from the Dolenz family made it so that they were only able to get one solid hit on the retreating man’s back. Still, Stewart had let out a loud guffaw at the sight while his brothers Donnie, Lee and Ronnie joined in with their usual squeaky laughs.

All of them were surprised though when that same guy with the hat reappeared and sprinted back behind the fort less than a minute later.

“Hey, what’s he doing back there?” Donnie asked. “I thought we got rid of him.”

“Aw, it don’t matter,” Stewart scoffed. “We’ll get ‘em with this next round. See? I broke up some icicles and put a few bits into each of these snowballs. This will stop ‘em good.”

All four of them chuckled again, confident that their plan would spell their enemies’ defeat.  However, before any of them had had a chance to throw anything; another snowball, smaller, but much faster than any thrown before, zoomed over their heads. It was followed by several more in rapid fire. The barrage managed to punch a couple more holes in their fort.

“What…what’s goin’ on?” Stewart gaped. “How are they throwing ‘em like that?”

* * *

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard, Tommy, Bobby, and Chip were furiously making small, tightly compacted snowballs while Micky kept poking his head up around the edges of the fort so he could keep watch on the Davis kids.

“It worked, it worked,” the drummer giggled. “I can already see more holes. Another longer attack should take care of them.” Micky ducked back down and joined in making snowballs. “You’ve really got good aim with that thing.”

Mike chuckled. He had learned how to use a slingshot when he was a kid staying at his Aunt Ethel’s farm. Years of practice had helped him perfect his technique and, more importantly, his aim. Thus, the slingshot Micky had given him was turning out to be a useful gift.

“We’re ready with the next round,” Chip announced.

The three boys passed several snowballs over to Micky who handed them to Mike. For a brief moment, Mike wondered if he was doing the right thing in using his slingshot skills to obliterate his opponents. However, just as he started to entertain these second thoughts, another snowball sailed over flicking Mike’s hat off his head again. This time though, the impact had rained something like shards into his hair. The Texan dug them out and held some up in the palm of his hand.

“Why those dirty rats,” Micky huffed. “They’re putting ice in those snowballs.”

Soon, cheers of “get ‘em” came from the boys and Mike found that he had all the resolve he needed.

“Ready men,” he said, peeking over the edge of the fort wall so he could aim. A couple seconds later, he started firing. Micky would hand him another snowball and the boys kept making fresh ones to feed to Micky. The snowballs hit their targets and it wasn’t long before even larger gaping holes appeared in their opponents’ fort wall.

“Run!” Stewart yelled, waving his arms and jumping out from behind his fort. The other three kids leaped up to join him, all of them dashing away to the other side of the road. Micky, Chip, Tommy, and Bobby grabbed their remaining snowballs and tossed them at their retreating forms.

Once they run all the way inside the Davis’ house, Micky and his cousins cheered while bouncing up and down. Mike stood up, shoved his slingshot into his back pocket and stooped down to retrieve his hat from the ground. As he put it back on his head, he smirked in the direction the other boys had run. A smirk that did not go unnoticed by Micky.

“Hey, let’s go kick down their fort,” the drummer suggested.

“Yeah, serves them right,” Chip nodded vigorously.

For a moment, Micky thought that Mike was going to argue again against doing something so childish and petty. But instead the Texan smirked even more and marched over toward what was left of their enemies’ fort. Micky laughed and waved at his cousins to follow them. Once they were there, the boys kicked at the base of the fort while Micky and Mike shoved the top layers over. Soon, the fort was reduced to smashed lumps of snow that everyone was stomping on.

Throughout this, Micky watched how Mike’s demeanor slowly changed from tentatively flicking the snow around to wholeheartedly getting into the spirit of destruction. Most of all though, Mike was laughing. Not chuckling or smirking or doing the forced, fake laughter that he did to be sarcastic. No, the Texan was genuinely laughing with a sparkle in his eyes that could only be described as pure, Christmas joy.

It was then, in that perfect moment watching the snow crumble around Mike, that Micky realized that he had gotten everything that he had wanted for Christmas.

“Hey, I think it’s starting to warm up already,” Tommy said.

“Aw man, that means the snow will be gone in a couple hours,” Bobby pouted.

“Hey, but it’s still here now,” Micky said. “Let’s make a few mini snowmen before it all melts away.”

The boys nodded eagerly and even Mike seemed eager to try his hand at making some snowmen. Sure, these snowmen would be gone not long after they finished, but Micky didn’t care.

The snow might melt away, but the memories were sure to stay with all of them for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**December 25 Continued**

Later that day, Mike and Micky were back at the pad, sitting in front of their own Christmas tree.

* * *

 

After they had gotten done making a few mini snowmen and wishing them well, Mike and Micky went back into the house to warm up with some coffee and cookies. Then they gathered up their presents and got ready to head home.

As they got ready to walk out the door, Janelle hugged Micky tightly.

“Come back again to visit soon,” she said in his ear. Micky gave her a firm hug back.

“I will, Mom, I promise,” he told her. “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re very welcome,” Janelle smiled at him. She then reached over to give Mike a brief hug as well. “I hope you had a Merry Christmas with us.”

“I did, thank you,” Mike said, giving her a quick embrace back before moving away. “Y’all…well, um…I won’t ever forget what you did. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome too, Michael,” she said. “And feel free to come visit along with Micky if you want.”

Janelle continued to wave at them as they loaded up their car to leave. At the last minute, Mary ran outside with a bag full of leftovers to enjoy for the next couple of days. After a couple more farewells, the guys drove off.

Janelle waited until she could no longer see them to go back into her house.

* * *

 

Once they got home, Micky brought in their bags and all their presents while Mike tended to the food. He figured that they had enough now in the pad to last the rest of the week. Micky sat box of candy near the tree for Peter and Davy that his mom had sent home for them to enjoy. Although, Micky couldn’t resist stealing a couple of pieces for himself.

Once everything was put away, Micky turned on the Christmas lights around the pad while Mike lit a few candles. By now, it was evening and dark outside so the glow of the lights flickered brightly.

“I hope Davy and Peter had a good Christmas too,” Micky said, tossing a candy into his mouth. “This year’s was one of the best.”

“Yeah,” Mike said, sinking into the couch. “It was good.”

Something about Mike’s tone put a question in Micky’s brain. He looked over at Mike and turned his body so he’d face the Texan.

“Uh, look, Mike, I’m sorry,” he said. “I mean, this whole thing: dragging you to my mom’s house and getting you involved in our celebration….I didn’t mean that it wouldn’t have been great if you had gone to see your family or anything. I’m sure that would have been great too. And that you would have had great stuff to eat and gotten great gifts and all….”

“Micky….”

“It’s just…I was thinking it was better than you sitting around here by yourself at the pad, ya know? I mean, that would have been a really sad way to celebrate Christmas. Here. Alone. Staring at the tree and wondering if Babbitt was going to stop by asking for rent again….”

“Mick….”

“Because, you know, Babbitt would do that kind of thing. Man, if they ever decided to make another version of A Christmas Carol and they needed someone to play Scrooge, I’d walk over and tell ‘em that I know….”

“Micky!”

“Huh?” Micky said, blinking. Mike chuckled and leaned back even more in his chair.

“Mick, I didn’t think you were tryin’ to replace my normal Christmas or anythin’,” he drawled. “It was just…different than the other ones. Sort of like, um when you go visit other family members one year.”

Micky grinned at the notion that Mike considered him and his family like “other family members”. “Yeah, I can dig that. And hey, you got to see snow for Christmas.”

“Sure, I’m stick flicking bits out of my hat,” the Texan smirked. “I wish we could have taken a village of our snowman gathering. That was pretty groovy.”

“Oh sure, but we could always make them out of cookies or something,” Micky said. “That way, we could have them every year…just not as snowmen. And we won’t forget them.”

Mike smiled at the idea. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

The two of them fell into silence for a while after that. Mike pulled out his paddleball to play with again while Micky grabbed a few more pieces of candy to munch on. A couple times, Mike gave him a disapproving look for stealing Peter and Davy’s candy, but he didn’t comment on it.

A few minutes later, they heard a sound at the door. Surprised, and a little apprehensive that was indeed Babbitt here to try to collect rent again, Mike cautiously made his way to the door. His eyes widened when he opened the door to find Peter standing on the other side of it.

“Merry Christmas!” Peter said with a huge grin. Micky leapt up from the couch and moved to stand next to Mike, his mouth hanging open.

“Peter? What are you doing here?” Micky said. “I thought you were spending Christmas with your family.”

“Well, sure,” Peter shrugged. “I already spent time with my parents, so now I’m here to spend time with you guys. Oh and I got some stuff too.”

Peter dragged his luggage into the house and then Mike helped him with a large box that he had sat down on the ground near the door. Mike and Micky carried it to the table and opened it up to find it was full of food: candy, cookies, sandwiches, fruit and even a fruitcake.

“My mom bought this for me before I left,” Peter explained. “She said that she wanted us to have a good Christmas dinner when I got here.”

“Oh man, and we’ve already got tons of leftovers from my mom,” Micky grinned. “We’ll be eating good for a week.”

“Hey, Pete, thanks and thanks to your mom,” Mike said. “Did you get lots of nice presents?”

“Oh gosh yes,” Peter gushed. “And I finally got inflatable alligator I’d always wanted.”

“You always wanted an inflatable alligator?” Micky said. Peter nodded vigorously in response. The drummer almost considered asking Peter why, but decided at the last minute that it’d be better to let that remain a mystery.

They had just finished helping Peter put his things away and getting the food ready to eat when they heard another sound at the door. Mike answered it and was even more surprised to find Davy standing outside.

“Davy!?” Micky gasped. “How, how’d you get here?”

“It wasn’t easy, let me tell you,” Davy said as he walked into the house, lugging both a large back and his suitcase. “But Grandfather was finally able to find someone who owed him a favor and was able to get me back to New York this morning. Then I was able to get a ticket to fly back here a couple hours later.”

“Wow, that’s great,” Peter said. “Glad you’re home, Davy” The bassist reached over and gave him a hug.

“Now, hold on Shotgun, Davy, shouldn’t you be spending the holidays with your grandfather?” Mike asked.

“Sure, I spent some time with him,” Davy nodded. “But we agreed that I’d be missing out if I didn’t spend some of my Christmas with you guys too. Oh and he sent you lot some presents too. Hey…what’s that on the table?”

“Peter’s mom sent him home with Christmas dinner,” Micky explained.

“So now we can have a real Christmas together,” Peter smiled.

“I guess so,” Davy chuckled. “Here, help me with these presents, will you?”

The four of them put Davy’s things away and sat down to eat dinner together before gathering in front of the tree again to open a few more presents and share stores of their holiday adventures. For the rest of the night, the atmosphere was a joyous one as they all realized that they had had their share of Christmas fun.

And that that joy, fun and warmth would be a part of their own Christmas together. Both now and for many years to come.


End file.
